Gilling machine



Feb. 27, 19 J. G. WELLMAN GILLING MACHINE Filed Oct. 21, 1965 INVENTORI JOHN G. WELLMAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,376,325 GILLING MACHINE John G. Wellman, Johnsonville, S.C., assignor to Wellman Industries, Inc, a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 499,347 1 Claim. (Cl. 19-66) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A steam treatment chamber vertically disposed on and carried by a swing arm of a gilling machine for steam treatment of wool sliver passing therethrough to efiect a relaxation of the natural crimp in the fibers prior to winding the sliver into a package.

The present invention relates to gilling machines and more particularly to an improved gilling machine having means for treating the'strand being delivered therefrom to increase the effective length of the fibers therein and the density of a package being formed.

Certain textile fibers, particularly wool, have considerable natural crimp and/or'curliness therein and are normally set in this crimped or curled character with a substantial natural resilience or springiness biasing the fibers toward the cn'mped or curled condition. In processing of such fibers, this natural crimp materially interferes with the drafting and parallelization of the fibers within a textile strand.

It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide a gilling machine for working upon a mass of essentially woolen fibers for parallelizing the same and then forming the same into a textile strand and having package forming means including winding means and swing arm traverse guide means, and further having means carried by the swing arm guide means adjacent the winding means for treating the strand to increase the effective fiber length of the fibers within the strand prior to the same being wound into a package to at least partially remove the natural crimp or curliness of the fibers and cause the same to lie in a more parallel straight-line condition.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary partially schematic perspective view of a gilling machine incorporating the features of the present invention; and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of one of the treatment chambers shown in the lower medial portion of FIGURE 1. Referring now more particularly to the drawing, there 18 shown a gilling machine, generally indicated at 10, which includes a feed mechanism 11 for feeding essentially woolen fibers or similar textile fibers into the machine. As illustrated in the drawing, this feed mechanism 11 includes a driven conveyor belt 12 and a roll 13 cooperating therewith to define a nip through which the textile fibers pass.

Upper and lower sets of faller bars 14 and 15, respectively, are disposed immediately following the feed mechanism 11 and comprise -a plurality of transversely disposed bars 16, 17, respectively, having at least one row of depending or upstanding pins 20, 21 thereon. These faller bars respectively move downwardly and upwardly adjacent the feed mechanism 11 so that the pins 20, 21 enter the web of fibers being fed forwardly by the feed mechanism. The faller bars then move in the same direction as the web of textile fibers at a slightly faster rate than the fibers are being fed by the feed mechanism 11. Accord- 3,370,325 Patented Feb. 27, 1968 ingly, the faller pins 20, 21 on each cooperating pair of upper and lower faller bars 16, 17 cooperate to gill and draft the web of fibers and to move the web of fibers forwardly from the feed mechanism 11. At the opposite ends of the path of travel of the sets of faller bars 14, 15, the upper and lower faller bars respectively move upwardly and downwardly to retract the faller pins 20, 21 from the web of textile fibers and then return out of contact with the web to the initial position adjacent the feed mechanism 11.

A pair of delivery rolls 22, 23 are provided for receipt of the gilled web of fibers from the faller bars. Preferably, rolls 22, 23 calender the web, and the lower roll 23 is preferably fluted. Rolls 22, 23 are driven in a manner not shown at a faster surface speed than the speed of travel of the faller bars to further draft the Web of fibers.

A pair of condenser trumpets 24, 24' are provided adjacent the delivery rolls 22, 23 for separating the web of textile fibers and condensing the same into two strands S and S. Swing arm traverse guiding means, broadly indicated at 25, 25', are provided for guiding the strands S and S from the condenser trumpets 24, 24 forwardly and for forming the same into packages.

These guiding means include first strand guides 26, 26' mounted on suitable brackets 27, 27 shown in phantom lines in the drawings, which receive the strands from the condenser trumpets and guide the same downwardly. Mounting blocks 30, 30' are respectively mounted on brackets 27, 27' for pivotal movement about horizontal pivots. First arm members 31, 31' are, in turn, pivotally mounted on mounting blocks 30, 30' for pivotal movement about horizontal pivots, disposed perpendicular to the pivots of the mounting blocks. Second guide means 32, 32' are mounted on the first arm member 31, 31' for receipt of the strands from the first guide means 26, 26'. Second arm members 33, 33 are pivotally mounted at one end on the arm members 31, 31 for pivotal movement about first horizontal pivots and are pivotally mounted at the other ends on guide blocks 34, 34' which pivots are parallel to the pivots of the first arm members. Guide blocks 34, 34' are carried by traverse mechanisms 35, 35' for reciprocatorymovement along a stationary rack 36. Suitable pinions (not shown) are mounted on shafts 37, 37 and are driven in a suitable manner for reciprocating the traverse mechanisms along the rack 36.

Suitable winding mechanisms 40, 40 are provided for the strand and include a rotating drive roll 41 and spindles 42, 42' rotatably mounted on pivot arms 43, 43' and driven by surface contact with the roll 41. The rotary movement of the spindles 42, 42' and the traversing movement of the traverse mechanisms 35, 35 cooperate to form packages of the textile strand S, S.

Means 44, 44' defining treatment chambers are disposed between the second guides 32, 32' and the guide blocks 34, 34 and are carried by the second arm members 33, 33' of the swingable arm traversing mechanisms. As illustrated in the drawings, means 44, 44' include generally cylindrical body portions 45, 45' (FIGURE 2) of tubular configuration with top and bottom end portions 46, 46' and 47, 47 tightly fitted therein and normally closing the opposite ends of the tubular body portions 45, 45 except for centrally disposed inlet openings 50, 50' and outlet openings 51, 51' disposed respectively in the top and bottom end portions 46, 46 and 47, 47. Preferably, top and bottom end portions 46, 46' and 47, 47 have upwardly facing concave depressions therein leading into and terminating in the inlet and outlet openings 50, 50' and 51, 5'1 to guide the textile strands therethrough. Also, the openings 50, 50' and 51, 51 are preferably of a size corresponding substantially to the size of the strands such 3 that the openings are substantially closed by the strands passing therethrough.

Steam supplying means is communicatively connected to each of the means 44, 44 and communicates with the treatment chambers defined thereby. Connections 52, 52' are connected at one side of the body portions 45, 45' and are generally horizontally directed toward the center of the treatment chambers and transversely of the path of travel of the strands therethrough. Connections 52, 52' are connected by hoses 53, 53' to a T-connection 54 which in turn is connected to a pipe 55 having a control valve 56 mounted therein. Pipe 55 is, in turn, connected to a suitable steam source 57 for supplying steam under pressure to the treatment chambers.

In operation, the gilling machine feeds, gills and condenses textile, essentially woolen, fibers into the strands S and S and draws the same forwardly toward the winding mechanism '40 and 40. The strands S, S' are passed through the first and second guides 26, 26 and 32, 32' which guide the same into the inlet openings 50, 50' of the treatment chambers defined by the means 44, 44. The strands pass through the treatment chambers, preferably at a rate of 124 yards per minute, and out of the outlet openings 51, 51. Steam is supplied to the treatment chambers by the steam supplying means and is directed thereinto transversely of and directly against the strands passing therethrough. To accomplish optimum relaxation of the fibers and increase in the effective length thereof, it has been determined that the steam should be supplied to the treatment chambers at a pressure of about seven (7) pounds per square inch gauge. Due to the constriction of the inlet and outlet openings by the strands, a steam atmosphere will be created within the treatment chambers with a pressure of about seven (7 p.s.i.g. and a temperature of about 212 F. This steam atmosphere acts upon the fibers causing the same to relax their natural crimp or curliness and to assume a more straight-line, parallel condition which materially increases their ability to be fur- V ther processed and'results in a more compact package being formed by the winding means 41, 41. It is noted that machine of the type described has been disclosed wherein more compact packages of woolen strands are achieved and wherein the fibers within the strands are in a more relaxed, straight-line, parallel condition and have improved characteristics for further processing.

In the drawing and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claim.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a gilling machine having operating instrumentalities for gilling and drafting an essentially woolen fibrous material, and packaging instrumentalities for receiving the material from the drafting zone and forming the same into a package and including means for condensing'the woolen material into a strand, means for winding the strand into a package, and guide means for guiding the strand between the condensing means and the winding means and including a vertically disposed swing arm for traversing the strand relative to the winding means to aid in forming the package; means for treating the woolen strand to increase the effective fiber length thereof and the density of the package being formed and to improve subsequent processing thereof, said means comprising:

(a) means carried by said swing arm and defining a vertically disposed treatment chamber having a tubular body portion and top and bottom end portions having respective inlet and outlet openings therein and upwardly facing concave depressions surrounding the inlet and outlet openings for facilitating the passage of the woolen strand therethrough; and

(b) means operatively connected with a medial side portion of said treatment chamber for supplying steam to said chamber into the path of travel of the woolen strand therethrough at a predetermined pressure and temperature to maintain a steam atmosphere within said treatment chamber during passage of the woolen strand therethrough to effect a relaxation of the natural crimp and resilience of the woolen fibers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS,

3,263,279 8/1966 Chaikin et al 19- 66 3,298,068 1/1967 Chaikin et a1 19-66 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,119,072 3/1956 France.

799 of 1853 Great Britain. 1,429 of 1863 Great Britain.

DORSEY NEWTON, Primary Examiner. 

